Waber (Lyle at Christmas, 1998, etc.) introduces another beguiling and worthy creature into an unsuspecting home where it first disrupts, then engages, then makes itself a part. First off, the home is a pretty curious abode of great silence: “the quiet man, the quiet woman, / the quiet cat and bird, / ate their dinner, sipped their drink, / and never spoke a word.” They would never eat a radish, for instance, because of the snap-crunch. “They ate instead, / stewed tomatoes, / mashed potatoes, / and puddings made of bread.” Into this scene of utter tranquility, one stormy night, enters a mouse, “who was tired and hungry, / and had seen better days.” The mouse finds the pantry and starts tucking it in. Sated, he takes a snooze and, oh, how his snores rock the house. “Glassware clinked, / dishes clattered. / A bowl from the cupboard / fell and shattered.” Blasted from their sleep, the house’s inhabitants hasten to the source of the racket. The mouse explains his dire circumstances, shows contrition, and learns to walk softly in the world. Except for the nighttime, when he continues to snore like a series of gas explosions. Earplugs remedy that annoyance. Live and let live, Waber counsels, we all have our quirks (snoring is a public nuisance, but what about that obsessive/compulsive need for quiet?), and always extend a helping hand to our fellow creatures. Read aloud, Waber’s verse is music—“His snores were roars / with whistling encores”—and his artwork roughly handsome, with the deep-dish color of crayons, plus plenty of it is in panels to keep eyes entertained as the verse unwinds. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-97518-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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